Dental appliance



NOV. 17, 1931. H W 1,832,303

DENTAL APPLIANCE Filed Feb. 25, 1929 "11""? "I Z 3 mmm BY WM 122:; HI TTOR EYs 10f the delicate tissuesof the mouthr' lheprofiatented Nov. 17, 1931 UNITED r mrdireannowm, "O'FJNEW' YORK; N;- Y.

DENTAL APPLIANGE Application filedile'bruary 25, 1929. Serial No. 342,880.-

This invention relates intgeneral to a-tooth brush and apparatus by which a continuous sprayor stream of fluidiis suppliedto the brush and discharged therefrom' into the mouth. The invention is concerned'more particularly with a dental brush adapted 'to be used with a powder, a paste,or a liquid denti? frice. The apparatus specifically illustrated and described herein is adapted to-be used as a dental apparatus but it is tolbe understoodthat with slight modifications, it may be used for other analogous purposes as for example,

sterilizing brushes used for cleansing bottles and slmilar containers, shampoo brushes, etc;

The method of cleansing teeth in vogue at the present time which comprises brushing the teeth with a more or less insanitarybristle h'ru'shto which the dentifrice is usually applied, in the form of a pasteor a powder,

causes abrasion of thete'eth as well as injury to the soft tissues of the 'mouth,injury to the enamel of the teeth by continuou's use, and in many instances, will perforate'the enamel and enter the 'dentine. Even where the ordinary'bris tle toothbrush 'is'j-usedsolely with a liquid dentifrice the enamel offthe teeth is abraded bythe rubbingaction of the bristles on the teeth. g I have found that :a spray, jet or stream of water or other liquid traveling at arelatively hi gh velocity is veryjeifective' in removing .food deposits and substances -injurious to teeth. The spray or jet maybe usedwithout causing injury to the delicate tissuesfof the mouth. Applying a spray 'or jet of medicated liquid is often most beneficial. If a fine stream of a liquid or spray be used'in conjunction with a suitable brush the .teeth can bev cleaned more efficiently-and rapidlytha'n can be done at the present time with the ordinary bristle tooth brushes having dentifri'ces o applied thereto in the form of 'apaste or powder. In this connection', I preferto'usefajdetach'ablei rubber brush having" projections preferably formed integral with the 'b'ody'fof the'brush and made readily detachable 'fro'm the handle or carrier therefor. Su'clifabr-ush may be easily sterilized before and after use, I thereby eliminating the dangerof infection jections may. take various forms as indicated in thedrawings. i r

I he fprincipal lobject of the present inventi'omtherefore is :to provide brushes adapted tovbezsupplied with continuous sprays or jets of liquid for cleaning purposes especially for cleaning the teeth and soft tissues of the mouth;

7 ,Another' objectoft'he invention is to prov-ide, afountaini brush having a fluidsupply" container whichalso serves as the handle for the brush. V

Ingeneral-theapparatus embodying a preferred form of the present invention com- ,prises :a-;fiuid supply container having :tubes connected therewith, one of :which is normally immersed'inthe liquid inthe container and the other extends from the container and is Iconnected t0 adischarge nozzle preferably positioned so as to discharge a spray or jet of liquidthrougl the brush and past the'bristles or otherproj ections of thebrush. An air supplystubeis adapte d to :force the liquid from the container-rand through the discharge nozzle. :Theairsupply preferably furnished througli a motor driven pump such as desoribedjand illustrated in my Patent No. .l,5 55,287, granted September29, 1925, or any otherdevice in the nature of alight-weight portable apparatus designed to supply air under pressure.

v The inventionwill bebetterfundersto'od from the following-description and the ac- :companying drawings inwhich fFig 1 is ,a pictorial representation of an individual cleaning. his teeth holding in one hand the dental cleaning brush described; 7

herein and in the other hand switch;for -controllingvthe motor driven pump supplyin'gqliquidorair pressure to the brush.

I oftheden-talcleaningbrush in whichaspray for atomized stream of liquid is discharged from the brush. a

" Fig: 3 is a similar side elevation 'of the brushshown in-Fig. 2. v s

' 'F-ig: 4- is "a view of a brush having .a' contact surfaoe of spongerrubber Figs; 5 1 and-6 are "side and 1 end views of a F ig:2 is"a plan view ofa preferred form brush having a contact portion consisting of a flexible rib.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of another form of dental cleansing brush in which a solid jet of cleansing or medicated fluid is discharged from the brush.

Fig. 8 is a partial plan view of the brush shown in Fig. 7 and V Fig. 9 is a diagrammatical representation of a dental cleaning system in which theliqu1d dentrifice container is separated fromthe brush proper.

Figs. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate a preferred of my dental appliances.

In the drawings the numeral l'represents a container for the supply of liquid dentifrice or other fluid to be used in the brush. The container 1 is preferably of cylindrical or any" convenient form adapted to be grasped by the hand of the user so as to serve as the handle for the brush.

The device illustrated in Figs. 2 and is provided with two outlet tubes extending from the cap 10 and is adapted to supply a fine spray of liquid through the discharge nozzle 11. In this form of the device a tubing 12 extends from the interior of the container as shown to the discharge nozzle 11. Another tube 13 extends from the discharge nozzle 11 to the cap 10 and communicates with the interior of the container and has its end in alignment with the discharge end of the air tube 14.

For convenience in holding the cleaning brush, the container 1 may have formed therein a longitudinal groove adapted to accommodate the tube 8 so that the same willlie flush or nearly sowith the exterior surface of the container thereby permitting the individual to hold the tooth brush securely and conveniently. The tube 8 is preferably held in position in the groove by means'of asuitable clamp or clip 9 which enclrcles the container 1. v

In the device as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the open end of the container-.1 is preferably provided with a metal cap 2 which may be screwed into the container so as to form an airtight .joint. A piece of metallic tubing 3 extends through the cap 2 andsubstantially the full length of the container 1 as shown more clearly in Fig. 7 The end ofthe tube 3 inthe container 1 is preferably bent as indicated at l,so that the endthereof will be immersed'in the liquid in the container when the latterisin the horizontal position shown in Fig. 1 and there'is but a very limited supply of liquid in'the container. The other end of the tube 3 is provided with a discharge nozzle 5, having a tapering outlet as shown more clearly in Fig. 8. A rubber or bristle brush 6 is mounted on the discharge nozzle as shown in Fig. 8 and is fastened to the tube 3 by means-of easily detachable clamps 7.

Air is supplied to the interior of the conform tainer through a tube 8 so as to displace the stream of liquid from the container through the tube 3 and the discharge nozzle 5. The tube 8 is connected with suitable air compressing apparatus such as is described in my prior patent referred to above.

When it is desired to remove the cap 2 from the container for any purpose such as to pour in liquid, the tube 8 is disconnected from the air supplying apparatus, and partly released from the longitudinal groove in the side of the container l so that the cap 2 may be unscrewed from the container. The cap has a hole lopermitting the entry of air to the container.

When air is supplied through the tubing 14, it flows through the tube 13 and is discharged through the nozzle 11. The flow of air through the tube 13 tends to produce a partial vacuum in the container above the level of. the liquid'therein. Atmospheric air rushes through the hole 15 in the cap and displaces the liquid in the container through the tube'12 and through the discharge nozzle '11. The ends of the tubes 12 and 13 are provided with hollow trunnions 16 which support the discharge nozzle 11 and through which the liquid and airflow to the nozzle. The discharge of liquid and'air simultaneously through the nozzle 11 causes the liquid to be atomized as it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. This constitutes one form of a spraying or atomizing device,

other forms being well known to the dental art and such may be used instead of the form described and towhich a brush may be easily attached.

A brush 6, preferably of rubber or. bristle,

.is mounted on the discharge nozzle and is held in position by means of the quickly detachable clamp or clip 18 extending across the tubes 12 and 13.

. Other types of brushes may be used as illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. In Fig. 4, the contact portion is shown as being made of sponge rubber while in Figs. 5 and 6 the contact portion 17 is in the form of a central flexible rib having transverse slits and a cen- V vices shown in Figs. 2' and 7 but is mounted upon a shelf 20 located in a convenient place. The discharge nozzle 21 associated with the brush 22 is supplied with a stream of liquid which flows through the tube 23 communicat- 1 ing with the container 19 as illustrated. A- 'handle24 is provided and the tubing 23 extends therethrough as shown. Air is supplied to the container 19 through the tube 25 which isconnected to the motor driven pum 26 operated from a wall outlet 27 as'illus-- trate'd. The action of the pump 26 is controlled by the switch 28 held by the hand of individual. 1

Having thus illustrated and described thesev specific embodiments of my invention, I do not wish to be understood as being limited to the details set forth for the construction and arrangement of parts may be altered as the occasion requires or the construction of the apparatus may be otherwise modified by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

1. A cleansing apparatus comprising, a fluid discharge nozzle, a brush combined with said nozzle, a fluid supply container adapted to have fluid ejected therefrom by air pressure, a fluid delivery tube connecting said container with said nozzle, an automatic pumping device located at a distance from said container for supplying fluid under pressure to said nozzle, a flexible tube connecting said pumping device with said container,

- a power control means for said pumping device and adapted to be operated while said brush is being used.

2. Dcntal'cleansing apparatus comprising,

a liquid discharge nozzle, a brush associated with said nozzle, a liquid supply container adapted to serve as the handle for said brush and adapted to have a liquid ejected therefrom by air under pressure, a liquid delivery.

tubing connecting said container with said discharge nozzle, an air supply tubing communicating with said nozzle, automatic means for causing air under pressure to flow through the last named tubing.

3. In dental cleansing apparatus having a,

liquid supply container adapted to serve as a handle for a liquid. discharge nozzle, the improvement which comprises providing the wall of said container with a longitudinal groove, a removable tube located -in said groove, and connecting said container with said discharge nozzle, and resilient means for holding said tube in sald groove.

FRANK MORGAN HOWE. 

